Welcome to Texas justice: You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride.

Friday, January 17, 2014

'First 48' profits from false accusations against innocent people

The New Times in Miami has an exceptional piece about an reality show on A&E titled "The First 48 makes millions off imprisoning innocents." Premised on the (dubious) notion that most murders are solved in the first 48 hours or not at all, the reality show depicts police investigations during those first two days after a murder. In Dallas, Detective Dwayne Thompson, whose interrogation methods were highlighted in this Grits post, has been one of the detectives profiled.

The Miami New Times hones in on the fact that the show's producers are looking for good television, not necessarily the truth about who committed the crimes depicted. One of the innocents they identify who was falsely accused on the show was from Houston:

1,300 miles south in Houston, an innocent man named Cameron Coker languished inside a Harris County jail awaiting trial. In mid-July 2009, 16-year-old Eric Elizarraraz
had been shot at an apartment complex just off Highway 6. The boy had
confronted a group of men who'd insulted his girlfriend. At least three
witnesses offered county deputies a similar description of the killer —
tall, light-skinned, skinny — and later picked 18-year-old Coker out of a
lineup. As cameras rolled, Coker, who professed innocence, was arrested
and charged with murder.

When the episode "Straight Menace" aired on March 11, 2010, viewers
howled for Coker's execution. "Put him down," one commenter wrote in an
online forum. "They got the death penalty in Houston?"

But the case was substantially more fraught with error than viewers
realized. Though the show didn't broadcast it, none of the witnesses
whom detectives used were positive Coker was the shooter.

In February 2012 — after Coker had spent nearly three years in jail — Steven M. Smith,
a professor of psychology at Texas A&M and an expert in human
memory, tracked down the witnesses as part of Coker's defense. The
first, Andrew Nguyen,
confessed he hadn't seen the shooting and had "taken a good guess,"
picking Coker out of the lineup "based on what my other friends had told
me," according to court documents.

Another witness, Roberto Valdez, who confessed he'd been drunk and high on weed and Xanax
the day of the murder, said he told detectives he wasn't sure who
pulled the trigger and would "guess." At the bottom of the photo array,
he wrote, "I'm p.," which he later told Smith had meant, "I'm probably
wrong." A third witness also admitted he hadn't been sure.

In mid-2012, after spending 1,095 days in prison, Coker was released.
Prosecutors' closeout memo had cited "witness identification problems."

"I couldn't believe they did that to me," Coker now tells New Times. "It was like a torture that no one should have to go through in this life." Coker's attorney, Vivian King, says she's repeatedly asked The First 48's producers to stop rebroadcasting the episode now that Coker has been exonerated, but they've declined. First 48 producers refused to comment for this article.

"Just imagine the image they made out of me," Coker says, adding he
fears retribution for a crime he didn't do. "Even when I walk places
I've never been, people know me from The First 48 without really knowing what happened."

Read the whole story. Grits has never been comfortable with the notion of crime as entertainment, so I must admit this New Times story confirms many of my own biases. It's irresponsible when accusations are trumpeted from the mountaintops but dismissals are back-page news, if they're acknowledged at all. They'll keep doing it, though, as long as the method generates strong ratings.

SH - most murders are solved quickly because it's very obvious who did it. When it's not, careful investigation matters more than speed. Mark Norwood was convicted more than a quarter century after killing Michael Morton's wife. A single anecdote proves nothing.

I must agree that A&E should stop airing that episode and their refusal to do so should leave them open to lawsuit from Coker. I do not however think that A&E has tried to frame people due to their race. I further agree that reality TV based on the investigation, that leaves the viewer with a sense of the persons guilt or innocence is a terrible thing because it is prejudicial and then you have situations like Mr. Coker' He should be able to seek relief through legal action.

I think it's funny how a confirmed gang member is worried about how the show had him perceived. It's say his actions in life set his image.

As for the show, don't they have to have permission to show suspects like COPS does? I was under the impression they sign waivers. There was a case here in Houston where a victim's family found out the victim died during a homosexual tryst and had the episode stopped from being aired.

Thanks for posting this. I have seen The First 48 and in fact, loads of my friends encourage me to watch it because they know I'm an investigator. I could have assumed this about The First 48, but having concrete examples really drives it home.

I truly think that using criminal justice for any type of entertainment ultimately undermines the ACTUAL pursuit of justice.

Without a doubt "The first 48" is opne of the best reality shows on TV and their facts are accurate, as I follow up by reading the case on the internet. They also demonstrate there accuracy by also broadcasting their follow up show " After the First 48" Which is equally as well done.No matter how great things are in this world, there always seem to be haters out there that try to spoil a good thing.

Regarding the comment above about A&E broadcasting follow-up shows "After the First 48", where is the follow-up episode on Coker's false accusation / imprisonment?

I, too, have enjoyed these shows - still do, in fact. The commenter above does what I do - if I have questions about an episode, I Google it. The episodes I've Google, I've never encountered inaccuracies in what was aired.

Lest we all forget, A&E ensures the statement "All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty".

OMG People.This shit bag is an outright CON.He deserved every minute in jail & then-some.It was just a shame he didn't get shanked while he was there.

The ONLY reason these witnesses changed their tune was to protect their families & themselves.

Coker "RIGHT ON TV" said he didn't hang with anyone, and he was getting his life in order, going to school, yet one guy that lived in the complex said Coker & a gang of guys started trouble with him saying "we own this place, we run it".Then picked his picture out of a group photo of a gang picture.This was totally separate from the murder.ON TOP OF THAT ..during this argument Coker gave his phone number to the guy after the guy defused the argument and offered Coker & the others some time in his music studio.If Coker wasn't a gang member & if Coker didn't hang with anyone but himself, the where did this guy get his number and why was Coker with a gang that night?

This kid has conned , stolen from & hurt people his whole life and had become a pro at it.AGAIN THIS KID IS SCUM SUCKING SHIT BAG.

He shot that 16 year old kid because of a stupid black & white colored bandanna.

He has no regard for you , for me , or any other person.Him and anyone he hangs with has no morals, and couldn't care less for their own parents before they care for a piece of cloth & it's color.

I agree. I've seen the episode and his doubtful testimony. I believe he's one menace that slipped through the cracks thanks to our faulty court system where the innocent get wrongfully accused and abused and the guilty get set free to continue their reign of terror on society. But hey, who are we to judge? If indeed he is guilty, God will deal with him accordingly. Everyone will have their day of TRUE judgment.

Wow. I've watched a lot of 48 hours episodes but when I watched this one this evening I was horrified at how Cameron was "identified". I went straight to the internet, expecting that this crazy situation must have been corrected straight away. Again I was horrified to find it took 3 years of jail for Cameron, when it was so evident that this was wrong on the day he was arrested.

That photograph on the back of the door of the interview room was completely outrageous as a method of finding a suspect. No-one's face should EVER be seen in that situation, and there was one of the police saying it was God's intervention that put it there. Then to hear the other officer telling the family, "We got the offender"!! That was just cruel and wrong. I know police officers have a tough job but they have an obligation to get this right, even with the cameras rolling. It was so clearly wrong practice by those officers, I believe they are criminally negligent and should be held to account for Cameron's unjustified incarceration.

Even the 48 hours team should have intervened, based on their understanding of good investigation practice. Their cameras put pressure on officers to convict and they need to take some responsibility for the actions that they record.

Research tells how unreliable witness testimony can be, and professionals in the field need to be highly aware of this, to avoid this kind of heartbreak - for the falsely accused and for the family of the victim, who have true pain from this wrong direction and knowing that the killer has been walking around - perhaps even killing others, for these past 3 years.

This young man is touchingly gracious to be considering himself blessed to be out. What kind of system is this, where young men can expect no better?

I NEW THE GUY THAT WAS SHOT!! THAT WAS WRONG, REGARDLESS OF WHO DID IT.. I SAW THAT BOY AS A BABY.. HIS MOTHER WAS MY BEST FRIEND. SHE MUST B DEVASTATED!!SO, REGARDLESS, THE PARENTS WANT JUSTICE.. THAT WAS HIS FIRST SON N THEY TOOK HIM AWAY FOR STUIDITY!! I FEEL FOR THE PARENTS. I NEW THEM ALL

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